Sustainable Times Issue 10

Corporate social responsibility

Leading the way in developing environmental initiatives

Toshiba TEC

AUTUMN 2012

INSIDE...

Why it pays to scan more and print less

A greener future for Durham University

Savings on tap at new Autodesk HQ

A universal approach to printer management

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CommentNew figures from IDC show that the number of pages printed on home and office printers and MFPs fell by 5% worldwide in 2011 and by 3% in Western Europe. The fall is due to a combination of factors including the economic climate; new technology (e.g. tablet computers); the on-going digitisation of key business processes (see pages 23 and 24 for examples); and attempts by organisations to reduce paper use by making it harder for employees to print (turn to page 28 to see how Autodesk is doing this in its new UK HQ). Today, there are so many ways to reduce one’s environmental impact and we would love to know what your priorities are. Please tell us by filling in the survey on page 16. Naturally, you can do it online too.

James Goulding, Editor

03 Green Agenda

10 Energy Management Maintaining the right temperature at St Mary’s

Hospital, Manchester

12 Cover Story How Toshiba offsets

MFP carbon emissions

14 Print Management UniPrint streamlines printing

at Carolina Container

16 SurveyTell us about your printing habits

18 Communications Why video conferencing makes sense

20 What’s New Our selection of new green

products

23 ScanningHow AIIM marked World Paper-Free Day

Editor: James Goulding 07803 087228 [email protected] Advertising Director: Ethan White 01732 759725 [email protected] Publishing Director: Neil Trim 01732 759725 [email protected] Sales Manager: Martin Jenner-Hall 07824 552116 [email protected]

Advertising Executive: Brett Blake-Morris 01732 759725 [email protected]

Sustainable Times is, published by Kingswood Media Ltd., Amhurst House, 22 London Road, Sevenoaks TN13 2BT Tel: 01732 759725. Email: [email protected] part of Sustainable Times can be reproduced without prior written permission of the publisher. © 2012 Kingswood Media Ltd.

Design: Sandtiger Media www.sandtiger.co.uk

The paper used in this magazine is obtained from manufacturers who operate within internationally recognized standards. The paper is made from Elementary Chlorine Free (ECF) pulp, which is sourced from sustainable, properly managed forestation.

AUTUMN 2012

24 Digital WorkflowsThree paper-less business processes

26 Green Buildings Durham University gains BREEAM excellent rating for new student building

28 Office Design Morgan Lovell greens new Autodesk UK HQ

30 Seating Why less is

more for Humanscale

CONTENTS

greenAgenda

sustainabletimes 03

Verdiem appliance simplifies deployment of energy management softwareIT energy management specialist Verdiem has introduced a fully integrated software and hardware appliance to speed up and simplify the deployment of energy management solutions in mid-sized organisations with limited IT resources.

Launched in conjunction with the new release of Verdiem Surveyor, the Verdiem VBOX removes the complications of purchasing a server or provisioning a virtual machine. The pre-packaged, pre-configured appliance is based on a standard 1u server and includes Verdiem Surveyor Fall 2012 Edition software.

This includes a number of enhancements, notably Connect for Smart Buildings, a new feature that allows the software to be integrated with building management systems (BMS). This extends visibility and control of energy use to heating, ventilation, air conditioning and lighting etc., as well as IT devices.

In addition, new role-based dashboards deliver key summary information on energy savings and

the ability to drill down to uncover more detailed insights.

Verdiem claims its software can help organisations achieve savings in IT energy costs of up to 60% with an ROI of 6-12 months.

TF1 Group, one of France’s leading integrated media and entertainment groups and operator of France’s no 1 TV channel for major events, is using Surveyor software to reduce the energy consumption of 4,000 PCs by 60-75%, saving €100,000 a year.

M. Thierry Michalak, IT Director for TF1, said: “We trialled several PC power management solutions and Verdiem’s Surveyor solution proved to be superior on both the functional and the technical level, generating an extra 15-20% savings compared to rival solutions. The Verdiem software is also robust and has no impact on TF1’s network set-up.”www.verdiem.com

Carbon NeutralMeeting the needs of customers with carbon reduction programmes, Antalis McNaughton has launched a service to offset carbon emissions from the production and delivery of supported papers.

These include the Image range of papers, 4CC, Data Copy and Coloraction. Antalis McNaughton is buying offsets in two CarbonNeutral Company projects, the Tieling Methane Capture and the Uchindile-Mapanda Forest project in Tanzania.www.online.antalis-mcnaughton.co.uk

Wheel savingsArjowiggins Graphic has produced a ‘wheel’ showing the savings that can be made by printing on Cocoon and Cyclus recycled papers. The ‘It feels good’ wheel demonstrates in a clear, visual manner the positive effects of using post consumer recycled paper rather than non-recycled grades for direct mail, brochures and annual reports. Businesses can calculate savings for their own print jobs using Arjowiggins Graphic’s Environmental Benefit Statement (EBS) tool.www.recycled-papers.co.uk

Green humourArjowiggins Graphic has launched a new video showcasing the benefits of being green in the workplace. The video, set in an office environment, uses humour to highlight the little things a person can do in their everyday life to lead a greener lifestyle – and some little known facts e.g. that on average ten more jobs are required to recycle an item of waste than to send it to landfill.www.recycled-papers.co.uk

Paper News

SustainableEditor’s Choice Award

VERDIEM

04 sustainabletimes 01732 759725

greenAgenda

Fit to flyThe Kestrel e400nb is a new wind turbine certified for DECC’s Feed-In Tariff (FIT) scheme. It can produce 3,922kWh annually, worth £1,098 at the FIT rate of 28p per kWh produced. Ideal for homes or small businesses with the space to install it, the small wind turbine can withstand winds of up to 156.6mph.www.microgenerationcertification.org

Cloud computing is often promoted as a green alternative to on-site servers but a new report from WSP Environment & Energy and the Natural Resource Defense Council (NRDC) suggests that the reality might not be so clear cut.

The US study found that running a computer application in the cloud is generally more energy and carbon efficient than a server room, but that it was not a foregone conclusion and there were a number of factors that could influence overall energy and carbon efficiency.

The three main ones are:

n The carbon emission factor of the electricity used: data centres can be based anywhere in the world and the amount of carbon emitted for each unit of electricity varies widely from country to country;

n The energy efficiency of the data centre or the server room: usually measured in terms of power usage effectiveness (PUE) for data centres; and

n How much the equipment is used: data centres running at low capacities aren’t nearly as efficient as those fully used. This is critical as PUE takes little consideration of usage rates.

David Symons, Director of WSP Environment and Energy, said: “There are many reasons for moving to cloud computing, but a company choosing to do so for pure energy efficiency reasons needs to look closely at their whole IT set up, as well as those of third party offerings. Not all clouds are created equal. An on-site server room that is run with energy efficiency best practices may be a greener alternative to a ‘brown cloud’.”

NDRC, which commissioned the research, advises small and medium-sized businesses to ask cloud service providers for full disclosure of the carbon efficiency of the services they provide and consider all the key variables that contribute to the efficiency of their own IT operations.

The full report, The Carbon Emissions of Server Computing for Small- to Medium Sized Organisations, can be accessed at http://tinyurl.com/9nra5kn

A fairy wonderland – for very tough fairies

Home lighting system gives complete control

The world record for the largest light picture using LEDs has been smashed at a naming ceremony for Oltin Yo’l Gtl in Shurtan, southern Uzbekistan. The joint venture to make high performance, low emissions fuels commissioned Malwell Corporate Projects to recreate a full scale plan of its energy plant spread over three quarters of a million square metres. All in all, it took 1,012,840 lights, 24km of

lighting cable, 14km of power cables and 302 kilowatts of power from three generators, a railway station and a nearby gas plant. Malcolm Wells, director of Malwell Corporate Projects, said: “For six days, we worked round the clock in temperatures of over forty degrees, in thirty kilometre plus winds. It was like building a fairyland for very tough fairies.”

Whether you see the Philips Hue as a force for good or a waste of energy depends largely on whether you leave your lights on or off when you leave home. Described as the smallest web-enabled LED home lighting system, it allows you to control and personalise lighting using a smartphone or tablet.

Hue consists of a unit that plugs into a home WiFi router, energy-saving LED bulbs that screw into existing light sockets and an app that can be used to control lighting remotely (for the benefit of pets or to give the impression that the house is occupied); to program lighting timers; or to customise light settings and colours.

There are also a number of pre-programmed lighting options including four with the optimum shade and brightness for relaxation, reading, concentration and energy.

Philips is developing other applications such as the ability to integrate Hue with sound and video or geo-location services that sense when you are near home and turn the lights on automatically.

A £179 starter pack includes three 600 lumen (50 watt equivalent) light bulbs; a bridge (and power supply) that can support up to 50 bulbs; a LAN cable; and download instructions for the app. Individual bulbs cost £49 each.www.meethue.com

Cloud computing not always greenest option

The power of the wordLogitech has launched a solar-powered, PVC-free keyboard for Mac, iPad and iPhone. The Logitech Wireless Solar Keyboard K760 is Bluetooth-enabled, pairs with up to three devices and switches between them with the push of a button. Integrated solar cells can charge the keyboard in any light. A full charge will last for three months. Logitech’s Wireless Solar range already includes keyboards for PCs (the K750) and iPads (the Folio). www.logitech.com

sustainabletimes 05www.binfo.co.uk

Mid-sized businesses use sustainability as a differentiator Mid-tier organisations regard carbon regulations as the most significant sustainability risk to their business, according to a survey by Verdantix for Grant Thornton, and are already taking steps to minimise their impact.

In anticipation of an extension of mandatory carbon reporting beyond the 1,600 companies listed on the main London Stock Exchange, 80% of organisations with turnovers of £250 million to £1 billion already have board-level accountability for sustainability reporting, with 51% of CEOs taking personal responsibility for it.

More than nine out of 10 (92%) state that sustainability is either ‘very important’ or ‘important’ to the overall success of their organisation and up to 70% have fully or partially enshrined sustainability metrics in their corporate financial targets.

Two thirds of respondents (67%) include sustainability information in some form of external reporting – either as a standalone sustainability report or within their annual report. However less than half (43%) use independent external verification of their sustainability efforts to ensure it is accurate, complete and balanced.

Customers are seen as the most important audience for information on sustainability efforts, cited by 84%, perhaps reflecting efforts by the largest listed companies to reduce their own carbon impact by choosing suppliers with sustainable products.

Jane Stevensen, Head of Sustainability at Grant Thornton, said: “Medium-sized businesses are the backbone of the UK economy and the CEOs of these firms recognise the importance of sustainability and are taking personal accountability for this. It is clear from this report that mid-tier companies that take the initiative integrating and publicising sustainability alongside financial reporting will be able to differentiate their brands with investors, shareholders and customers.”

Grant Thornton also asked mid-tier organisations what they felt were the most significant sustainability risks for them over the next two years. In order of importance, respondents cited carbon regulations; energy prices; water scarcity; environmental regulations; rising commodity prices; extreme weather and the risk of their products being substituted for more sustainable competitor offerings.

The key areas for capital investment in the same period are on-site renewable energy; video conferencing technology; projects to make buildings more energy efficient; data centre improvements; electric vehicles for the company fleet; software for energy and carbon management; and equipment to reduce industrial emissions.”www.grant-thornton.co.uk

Talking rubbishIntelligent bins that send a message to binmen when they need to be emptied have enabled a council in the Netherlands to cut its carbon footprint by a fifth.

The City Council of Groningen is one of 25 local authorities working with Vodafone

M2M and waste management business Mic-O-Data in the roll-out of 6,000 connected bins across the country.

The bins fitted with Vodafone M2M SIMs send daily status signals, alerting refuse collectors when they are getting full and need to be emptied, ensuring that the council no longer makes unnecessary journeys to collect empty bins.

Sustainability consultancy Environmental Resources Management has calculated that in just one year, the council has reduced its carbon emissions by 30 tonnes and saved around €92,000 (£72,000) in reduced fuel and maintenance costs.

Perch here

greenAgenda…

Blue Forest has designed its eco-Perch as a sustainable and luxurious alternative to permanent caravan and timber lodge accommodation. The double-glazed timber pod is compliant with the UK Caravan & Mobile Homes Act and can be installed (on the ground or in a tree) in five days with minimal disruption. It is equipped with low voltage LED lighting; a wall-mounted flat screen TV and DVD; efficient A-rated LPD or electric water heating; and an L-shaped worktop and breakfast bar, with integrated fridge, sink unit, gas hob and oven. For its launch

at this year’s Grand Designs show, Blue Forest chose Granite Transformations’ Dream Green recycled glass agglomerate for the worktop and breakfast bar. The material is made from used beer, wine and mineral water bottles and is available in a choice of colours.www.granitetransformations.co.uk www.blueforest.com

On-site renewable energy is a key focus for mid-sized organisations. Ecotricity installed this wind turbine at Sainsbury’s East Kilbride cold store and distribution centre in 2001. One of the first examples of Merchant Power – providing green energy at point of use and avoiding the costs of using the grid for delivery – the turbine provides enough green electricity each year to power about a third of the depot.


Vodafone


greenAgenda

Cartridge World embraces online sales

Ricoh saves energy with private cloud Ricoh Europe has won two Oracle Excellence Awards for a new IT infrastructure that has led to the removal of 1,600 servers and an 85% cut in energy consumption.

Ricoh implemented the ERP Platform and Private Cloud in an attempt to streamline EMEA business processes; enhance its customer service; and support the growth of its capabilities in Managed Document Services, IT Services and Production printing.

A key part of the strategy was to provide a single pan-European environment to manage client information and enable customers and staff to access documents, software and other business applications securely from anywhere across the region.

The Eco-Enterprise Innovation Award and the 2012 Chief Sustainability Officer Award were presented to Ian Winham, CIO and CFO at Ricoh Europe.

Ricoh is committed to reducing energy consumption by 87.5 per cent from 2000 levels by 2050.

Cartridge World customers can now buy printer supplies online following the addition of an e-commerce platform to its website.

The online capability is supported by three new services: ‘Same Day Delivery’, where customers can order online before 12pm and receive their printer cartridges the same day; ‘Click and Collect’, which allows customers to buy printer cartridges online and collect in-store; and ‘Free Postal Delivery’.

A ‘Printer Detective’ simplifies the ordering of supplies by scanning the customer’s computer to determine the make and model of standalone or network printer used and the most appropriate cartridges.

Free Postal Delivery is available across the UK, but to start with just 13 stores will offer Same Day Delivery and Click and Collect: Accrington, Aylesbury, Blackburn, Chester, Derby, Ellesmere Port, Fareham, Harrogate, Hereford, Rawtenstall, Kings Heath, Sittingbourne and Portslade.

Three further stores in Stoke-on-Trent, Goring and Littlehampton will offer Click and Collect only.

Cartridge World saved 1.2 million cartridges from going to landfill last year, but says that just 30% of all the cartridges used in the UK end up being re-used. It estimates that as many as 45 million end up in landfill.

It calculates that from July 2011 to June 2012, Cartridge World business customers saved almost £6 million on printer supplies and retail customers £5 million.

Cash for cartridgesBrother has launched a recycling programme that accepts used ink and toner cartridges from any manufacturer in exchange for a cash rebate or a charitable donation. In addition, for every four toners or eight inkjet cartridges that it receives, Brother will protect a tree through an existing partnership with Cool Earth. Brother supplies and collects consumable recycling boxes and has set up an online portal where users can keep track of collections and accumulated points (rebates). For information on how to get started, please email [email protected].

A positive contribution Océ UK is celebrating the fifth anniversary of the Carbon Positive Plus+ scheme devised by Shining Earth for Océ VarioPrint 6000 series printers.

Under the scheme, Océ offsets 200% of lifetime energy-related carbon emissions of every VarioPrint 6000 sold. To date it has offset 12,175 tonnes of CO2 – the equivalent of flying 7,609 passengers from London Heathrow to New York.

Bron Curley, managing director of Océ UK, said: “Being able to help our clients with their environmental aspirations and responsibilities has helped differentiate Océ as a responsible partner to the printing industry.”

Of the 12,175 tonnes of CO2 neutralised, 9,476 tonnes have been offset through The CarbonNeutral Company and 2,699 tonnes have been sequestered through the planting of 13,500 native broadleaf trees by the Woodland Trust in forests.

Leeds Children’s Hospital to benefit from cartridge recyclingOffice supplies firm OfficeXpress is encouraging businesses and schools to join a printer cartridge recycling scheme that aims to raise £5,000 for Leeds Children’s Hospital.

The service is completely free to join and OfficeXpress arranges all collections once a registered organisation has collected 10 or more cartridges.

Marketing manager Justin Phillips said: “Often cartridge recycling services only want certain types or brands but this initiative is open to all, including unbranded and ‘compatible’ cartridges.”

Jacquie Cross, Development Manager at Leeds Children’s Hospital Appeal, said: “All the old cartridges that are donated are monetised extremely quickly so the children benefit almost as soon as the cartridges are received. We’re delighted that so many businesses have already signed up to offer their support which has helped buy a wide range of materials that can greatly improve a child’s time in both our outpatient and ward areas.”www.officexpress.co.uk/lch 01274 651 933.

Cartridges are recycled at Brother’s recycling facility in Ruabon, North Wales where 100% of each one is recycled or reused, with nothing going to landfill.

Plenty of positives to celebrate: (from L to R) Océ’s Malcolm Glynn and Shining Earth’s Gareth Pickles and Roger Griffiths in Goltho Wood, Lincolnshire, which has benefited from the Océ and Shining Earth strategic alliance initiatives.


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Gerber saves juice with new pallet repair facilityGerber Juice Company and pallet supplier CHEP UK are saving 763 tonnes of CO2, 200,000 litres of diesel fuel and 330,000 road miles through the establishment of a new pallet repair centre on the juice supplier’s manufacturing site in Somerset.

Now, instead of sending pallets to Avonmouth (Bristol) for repair and re-distribution, CHEP customers in Cornwall, Devon and Somerset only have to send them as far as Bridgwater in Somerset, saving hundreds of thousands of road miles each year and removing the need for 40 journeys to and from Europe.

The joint initiative has also created 10 new jobs.

Fujitsu turns CDs into PCsFujitsu has developed the first system for recycling CDs and DVDs into notebook PCs. The company is collecting used CDs and DVDs at Fujitsu Group recycling centres and using the plastic recovered in the bodies of notebook PCs, including the front panel of the LIFEBOOK P772/E. Fujitsu claims this will allow it to reduce the amount of newly produced plastic needed by 10 tons per year and cut CO2 emissions by approximately 15%. Fujitsu says that

recycled CDs and DVDs are suitable for use in computers because they are made from polycarbonate, a type of plastic that can be used in the bodies of notebook PCs, and do not contain contaminants, such as flame retardants.www.fujitsu.com

Redeem extends contract with O2Mobile phone recycling company Redeem has extended its contract with O2 (Telefonica UK) to include business as well as consumer recycling services, after a competitive pitch which saw the company bringing ground-breaking recycling technology to the partnership.

The Falkirk company has developed a mobile site that uses automatic mobile phone detection to determine the brand and model of mobile being used so that it can offer a recycling price instantly.

To date, Redeem has processed over 500,000 mobiles for O2 Recycle and paid O2 customers more than £35 million for their old devices.

All profits generated by O2 from the recycling programme are donated to O2’s Think Big programme, which offers young people aged between 13 and 25 the chance to receive funding, training and support to develop ideas or initiatives of benefit to their local community. www.o2recycle4business.co.uk

IGEL breathes life into old PCsLeading thin client manufacturer IGEL is promoting the ability of its IGEL Universal Desktop Converter (UDC) software to extend the life of old PCs by migrating them to fully manageable IGEL Universal Desktop thin client-like devices. The software also makes the hardware more efficient to run.

IGEL UK managing director Simon Richards said: “This approach allows businesses to cost effectively extend the life of their current desktops to deliver a Server-Based Computing architecture or to produce a shorter return on investment when migrating to a Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) environment. IGEL’s UDC software allows IT environments with mixed desktop hardware, such as PCs or thin clients from different manufacturers, to be standardised at low cost and to be efficiently and securely managed over a network, or over the Internet, by means of one interface.”

IGEL adds that cost savings of up to 70% brought about by desktop standardisation and standardised remote management will enable customers to cushion investment and licensing costs incurred in centralisation or VDI projects in the data centre.www.igel.co.uk

Timber pallets have lower carbon footprintAn EUR/EPAL exchangeable pallet has a five times smaller environmental impact than a plastic pallet, according to Polytechnic of Milan research commissioned by the Italian National Committee, ConLegno, with the support of EPAL. EPAL is the largest pallet pool in the world with 500 million pallets in use and 70 million added annually.

The study into the environmental lifecycles of EUR/EPAL pallets, pooled plastic equivalents and one-trip wooden pallets concluded that when the combined impact of carbon emissions and the use of soil and fossil fuels was taken into account an EUR/EPAL exchangeable pallet had a significantly smaller carbon footprint.

It found the timber used in a single pallet would have absorbed 18.4kg of carbon from the atmosphere, which it will store until the end of its useful life.

The research was carried out by the Department of Chemistry, Chemical and Material Engineering (NATTA) and coordinated by Professor John Dotelli, according to ISO 14040 and ISO 14044 standards.

Alan Keates, Brepal Chairman, said: “This study provides yet more evidence that timber is clearly the material of choice for pallets and packaging, by virtue of its overall lower impact on the environment compared to other materials. The wood used in the 66,816,972 pallets manufactured as a part of the EPAL business in 2010 alone would account for approximately 1.23 million tonnes of carbon removed from the atmosphere and stored. Not only are timber pallets more environmentally friendly, they also remain the most reliable and least expensive option on the market.”www.brepal.org.uk

greenAgenda


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Trend Controls conceives perfect environmental monitoring system for Saint Mary’s Hospital

Since it first opened its doors in 1790, Saint Mary’s Hospital has developed a wide range of world-class medical services to meet the needs of the local population in Manchester. Its Department of Reproductive Medicine has become a centre of excellence in the provision of in vitro fertilisation (IVF) and has given hundreds of people who weren’t able to conceive naturally the chance to become parents.

IVF literally means ‘fertilisation in glass’ and, unsurprisingly, for any chance of success the process must be carried out in perfect conditions. Maintaining the correct temperature within the incubators is imperative as a fraction of a degree above or below could reduce the chances of fertilisation occurring.

Recognising that the best way to control the climate would be via an environmental monitoring system that could sound an alarm when required, Greg Horne, lead embryologist and laboratory manager of the Department of Reproductive Medicine, began searching for a solution. Fortunately he didn’t have to look far and after discovering that Sale-based Detail Design Engineering (DDE) had already configured a similar system for the National Institute for Biological Standards and Control (NIBSC) he made contact.

When Manchester’s world-renowned Saint Mary’s Hospital needed a monitoring system to control the temperature in its Department of Reproductive Medicine, it called on Detail Design Engineering to configure a system using products from Trend Controls.

Bespoke solutionsEstablished in 1991, DDE is one of the North West’s leading system integration experts with an enviable reputation for the design, installation and maintenance of Building Energy Management Systems (BEMS) and control solutions across the country. Its impressive client list ranges from local authorities and health authorities to blue chip industrial companies and leading retail chains.

“Our reputation for controlling non-standard, demanding applications such as clean rooms and hospital facilities means that we are often called upon to configure controls-based systems that are entirely bespoke,” explains director David Gould. “When Greg contacted us we knew that we would be able to help using products from Trend Controls.”

To give Horne a clearer idea of what was possible, Gould organised a visit to NIBSC headquarters where he could see how a Trend Controls BEMS is used to monitor the performance of scientific storage equipment including fridges, freezers, incubators, cold rooms and liquid nitrogen vessels. Horne was immediately

impressed and requested a similarly specified system to be installed at the Department of Reproductive Medicine.

Work began in 2006 when DDE set about identifying all the elements that needed monitoring, as Gould explains: “The embryos are stored in liquid nitrogen at a temperature of -196°C – a temperature that must remain consistent – so we installed a series of probes and alarms in the incubators to make sure that relevant personnel could be notified if there was any change. Additional sensors were used to monitor humidity and CO2. Oxygen depletion monitors were also installed, as if liquid nitrogen leaks or spills it can affect oxygen levels, which is potentially fatal to humans.”

DDE has been a Trend Controls Partner for over 20 years and now uses its products and systems exclusively. Asked why, Gould says: “They are without doubt the most flexible and reliable solutions on the market. When working in environments such as St Mary’s we can’t afford to take risks with products that we cannot rely upon 100%.”

Text and alarmsLike the one at NIBSC, the system at the Department of Reproductive Medicine is based around Trend Controls’ IQ251. A Trend Controls 963 Supervisor graphical user interface is the brains of the system and DDE uses it to configure all the necessary set-points and levels.

The 963 is programmed to issue alarms and can send messages via text and email to an on-site member of staff via a Trend Controls GSM modem. This allows DDE to dial in and carry out diagnostic checks and, in an alarm situation, to make a pre-recorded telephone call to the reception desk so that an additional alert can be delivered.

The environmental monitoring system has been called into action on a number of occasions, ensuring the required remedial action is taken without any disruption to the IVF programme.

“For six years this system has offered us peace of mind far beyond our initial expectations,” says St Mary’s Hospital’s Greg Horne. “By using products from Trend Controls, DDE has ensured that the conditions in the Department of Reproductive Medicine are maintained so that we can have the best possible chance of creating new lives.”

For further information please call Trend Marketing on 01403 211888 or email [email protected].

Embryos are stored in liquid nitrogen at a constant temperature of -196°C and are monitored by a series of probes and alarms.

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certification, which provides a set of principles that ensure a common sense approach to the management of its business activities. This means that it can improve internal and external stakeholder engagement, and improve risk management.

The company has also had the energy efficiency claims of its products scrutinised. It counts EnergyStar and Blue Angel amongst the environmental standards that it complies with, and also adheres to the LOT4 voluntary agreement (VA) that minimises environmental impact through design.

Orlaith Palmer, Toshiba TEC’s marketing manager – indirect channel, explained: “To ensure that our energy and environmental management objectives are understood by all of our stakeholders, we communicate information about our strategies and initiatives through mechanisms such as our Intranet and internal email marketing. This successfully engages all staff in carbon reduction activities and gives them the opportunity to make suggestions about how to improve energy efficiency across all areas of the business.”

As well as being ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 accredited, Toshiba TEC adopts a sustainable approach to the design, manufacture and use of all its products.

“

Toshiba TEC’s pioneering Carbon Zero scheme was launched in 2009 and offsets all the carbon generated in the manufacturing and shipping of its products.

“

Toshiba TEC continues to lead the way in corporate social responsibility

cover story

As well as producing the world’s most advanced printing, scanning and copying devices, Toshiba TEC UK Imaging Systems is also a leader in developing environmental initiatives that fulfil its corporate social responsibility (CSR) based objectives.

Top: The original cookhouse. Above: The new kitchen takes shape. Right: Ready for use

Green thinking

The Toshiba TEC Group considers environmental protection to be one of its primary responsibilities. This ethos permeates throughout every stage of its product design, manufacturing and sales processes – from the procurement of raw materials and components, through to how the product is used and maintained. Recycled plastic in exterior panels, longer-lasting consumables and compact designs are just some of the ways it enhances the sustainable qualities of its products.

This translates into innovative devices that prevent pollution, save energy and have minimal CO2 emissions. With a core message of Reduce, Reuse and Recycle, Toshiba TEC takes its corporate social responsibilities (CSR) seriously and does all it can to encourage similar best practice amongst its partners and customers.

The company is certified to ISO 14001, the international standard

for environmental management systems. ISO 14001 helps it

identify and systematically reduce any harmful

effects it may have on the environment by

developing processes to lower energy and raw

materials use, reduce waste and pollution, and

mitigate the possibility of emergency situations.

It also holds ISO 9001:2008 quality management


Providing enhanced social, health and welfare benefits make this a unique project that extends its reach way beyond simple carbon reduction. Data analysis has revealed that each school will reduce its firewood usage by at least 50 per cent and indoor pollution will be cut by up to 70 per cent – vastly improving the working environment for the cooks.

The reduction in the amount of firewood used plays a vital role in preventing deforestation, resulting in enhanced habitat and eco-system protection. It also reduces the risk of flooding and means that children spend more time in school rather than collecting fuel.

Toshiba TEC’s marketing director, Jeremy Spencer, commented: “The new cooking facilities at Buguta Primary School and Muhaka Secondary School will play a key role in enhancing their learning experience. The project is a great example of Toshiba TEC’s commitment to environmental initiatives and CSR programmes, and we are currently talking to our other partners about how they can also get involved.”

In the UK and Europe alone, the Carbon Zero scheme has offset a massive 165,503 tonnes of CO2 – the equivalent of 37,461 return flights from Düsseldorf to Tokyo.

“

Each school will reduce their firewood usage by at least 50 per cent and lower indoor pollution by up to 70 per cent.

“

Below: The new stoves. Bottom: The staff and pupils of Muhaka Secondary School

Food for thought

The previous issue of Sustainable Times featured an article that described how Toshiba TEC had helped two of its managed services customers contribute to a project that provides food preparation facilities for schools in Kenya. Coordinated by co2balance, the leading global carbon management company, it is part of Toshiba TEC’s Carbon Zero scheme, an initiative that ensures that any CO2 produced during the manufacture and supply of its multifunction products (MFPs) is entirely offset.

Work has now been completed and Buguta Primary School in Taita-Taveta District, north of Mombasa, now has a brand new cookhouse. It is helping to keep pupils in school during lunchtime, thereby ensuring that they get the best possible education.

Muhaka Secondary School in Msambweni District of the Coast Province is also benefiting from new cooking facilities. Relatively new, it is the only secondary school within a 5km radius and has a population of 35 students – a figure that is likely to triple in the next academic year. Therefore, ensuring its pupils are able to receive adequate sustenance during the school day is of paramount importance.

Less is moreThe pioneering Carbon Zero scheme, which Toshiba TEC launched in 2009, continues to evolve. Carbon generated through its manufacturing process is offset through a variety of sustainability based projects and the company also offers customers the opportunity to extend the carbon offsetting process during their ongoing use of the product.

The Carbon Zero scheme originated in the UK and has since been rolled out to Toshiba TEC companies throughout the world. Its European division recently signed a two-year scheme extension, ensuring that its Carbon Zero activities will continue into 2014.

Each country has the freedom to develop its own scheme variants, which accommodate the specific requirements of each market. In the UK, each Toshiba TEC multifunction product (MFP) is delivered carbon neutral with the optional ability to offset the machine’s activities, enabling positive printing and copying with no detrimental effect upon the environment.

Orlaith Palmer, stated: “The amount of carbon offset so far in the UK and Europe totals a massive 165,503 tonnes of CO2! To put this figure into context, it’s the equivalent of 37,461 return flights from Düsseldorf to Tokyo. To put it another way, the average UK household emits about 10 tonnes of CO2, so it is the same as that produced by 16,550 households.”

For more information on Toshiba TEC’s corporate social responsibility please visit: www.toshibatec.co.uk


secure print

To Infinity & beyond

Founded in 1928, Carolina Container designs and manufactures quality corrugated packaging for customers across the south-eastern United States.

The company’s IT infrastructure includes seven centrally located Windows terminal servers and 30 additional servers. Most are virtualised with VMware to provide various applications, including printing, to 400 users. Seventy per cent of users are on thin-client devices, with the remainder using a mix of Windows desktops, Mac computers, laptops and mobile devices. All have shared access to 150 network printers of various makes and model in 15 different locations.

The Challenge The high volume printing demands of Carolina Container’s business combined with the challenges of managing thin-client printing in a virtualised environment created the need for a universal printing solution.

The company also required an anywhere, anytime, any device application to print bar codes, quotes, invoices and project data directly from e-mail

Secure print systems that hold a print job on a server until the user releases it by entering a PIN at a network printer can reduce print volumes by 20%-30%: they ensure people only output the prints they need and, because the user is there to pick them up as they come out, prints don’t get lost or muddled up and need to be re-printed. On the downside, many solutions require users to invest in new devices adding to the expense and carbon footprint of an implementation. One that doesn’t is UniPrint Infinity, now being used by Carolina Container, as it is designed to work with multi-vendor fleets, existing network devices and diverse IT environments.

programs. Due to the high number of PDF documents Carolina Container receives from vendors and customers, being able to automatically print to PDF when e-mailing an attachment or an archived file was an absolute necessity.

In addition, the large volume of incoming HR records, billing sheets and complicated documents with font embedding that needed to be printed securely – often from remote locations – caused problems with bandwidth.

Carolina Container’s system administrators were plagued with printer driver incompatibility issues causing frequent server crashes and excessive help desk calls. The company also had a critical need for security given the sensitive nature of customer documents and an increasingly mobile workforce.

The Solution After assessing several other vendors, Carolina Container opted for a UniPrint Infinity managed printing solution, as it had the flexibility to solve Carolina Container’s problems and meet its specific printing needs.

A key selling point was UniPrint’s

PDF-based Universal Printer Driver, which simplifies printer management and solves incompatibility issues by negating the need to install multiple manufacturer printer drivers on terminal servers. The driver converts print jobs into PDFs, compresses files by almost 90% for reduced network traffic, and allows complicated customer documents containing asynchronous font embedding and barcodes to be saved, e-mailed, or printed on-the-fly.

A UniPrint PrintPAL utility has fixed IT administrators’ location-based printing challenges by facilitating the centralised management of printer authorisation by department and user.

“That lowered our total cost of ownership immediately,” explained JC Coleman, Network Administrator at Carolina Container. “Before UniPrint Infinity, we had to go to each printer and assign who had access; that meant modifying 120 different settings on each printer. Now users only see the printers they need access to.”

Another element, the UniPrint Bridge Server, eliminates the need to install printer drivers on client devices, enabling driverless printing. This gives PC, Mac, thin-client device and mobile device users seamless printing in the office and from any remote location, including their homes.

To meet, Carolina Container’s security requirements, UniPrint supplied a vPad user authentication device and encryption control functionality. Print jobs are now converted into compressed PDFs and encrypted to increase security when e-mailing documents. Users must also authenticate themselves before print jobs are pulled down and released at the selected printer.

The Benefits By deploying UniPrint Infinity, Carolina Container has realised big cost savings while improving security and ease of administration and use; employees can now print critical documents anywhere, anytime and from any device; smaller print jobs – through PDF compression – have decreased the need for costly IT bandwidth and administrative support; and employees are able to exploit the benefits of a virtualised print environment more effectively.

Carolina Container is now set up to support an increasingly mobile workforce with simplified and centralised printer management and documents that can be printed out directly, and securely, from any client device.www.uniprint.net

n A quick, straightforward installation process

n Highly scalable as printers and employees are added

n Printer-vendor independent

n Secure and easy set-up of printer permissions

n Decreased bandwidth utilization due to PDF

compression

n Anywhere, anytime, any device secure pull printing

n Support for all client printing including BYOD printing

Key Benefits

By deploying UniPrint Infinity, Carolna Container has realised big cost savings while improving security...

“


EXPOSE THE HIDDEN COSTS IN YOUR ORGANISATIONWITH MANAGED DOCUMENT SERVICES FROM KYOCERA

KYOCERA Document Solutions (U.K.) Limited – Phone 08457 103 104 – www.kyoceradocumentsolutions.co.uk

KYOCERA Document Solutions Inc. – www.kyoceradocumentsolutions.com

Output costs are always underestimated. In fact, they consume up to 6%* ofyour company’s turnover. KYOCERA’s Managed Document Services (MDS) reduces this cost factor by up to 30%**. Whether it’s hardware, software or workfl ows, we will fi nd your cost drivers and develop an individual optimisation strategy. Through our ongoing management we will also ensure that everything works perfectly. For maximum effect, MDS can be combined with our longlife technology-based, reliable ECOSYS and TASKalfa devices, giving you top-level productivity and superior image quality.Source: *All Associates Group, **Photizo Group

KYOCERA. COUNT ON US.


survey

In 1992 the Kyoto Protocol was five years away from being agreed and 13 years away from coming into force. Yet KYOCERA was already shipping the first ECOSYS sustainable printers.

KYOCERA’s heritage in ceramic technology is fundamental to the low-waste design of ECOSYS printers. The long-life components used are many times more durable than traditional alternatives meaning that in most cases the printer will have a lifespan of 30 to 50 times longer than other printers.

An ECOSYS printer is quite unique because toner is it’s only consumable. The low-waste design of ECOSYS printers means that 85% less waste is produced during the life of the printer. Additionally the simpler, smaller and lighter toner boxes have a lower transport footprint than more complex alternatives. KYOCERA has further improved its long-life design and energy-saving efforts, to achieve a remarkable reduction in (Typical Energy Consumption) TEC values and CO2 emissions, compared to conventional printers. The company has also improved the operation noise of its printers making them five decibels quieter, increased energy savings and reduced the time required to recover the printer from standby to start printing.

The benefits of ECOSYS extend beyond sustainability. A KYOCERA toner cartridge is simple and economical to produce and users of KYOCERA printers have already benefitted from 20 years of exceptionally low printing costs. KYOCERA has consistently emphasised the importance of a printer’s Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) as lifetime toner costs can be many times a printer’s purchase price.

KyoCera’s Green CredentialsThis year KyoCera Document Solutions celebrates the 20th anniversary of the launch of its eCoSyS sustainable printing technology. 1. Complete it online at

www.surveymonkey.com/s/kyocerasurvey or

2. Complete, scan and email to: [email protected] or

3. Complete and post to KYOCERA Document Solutions Survey,

Sustainable Times Magazine 22 London Road Sevenoaks Kent, TN13 2BT

1. What are the principle reasons for maximising/improving your organisation’s sustainability?

Please number the following list in order of importance, 1 to 5 where 1 is the highest.

• Reducing Overheads (ie, physical cost of bills) ___________ • Cutting unnecessary waste ___________ • Driving efficiencies ___________ • Ethical business responsibilities ___________ • Improved staff relations ___________ • Improved workplace conditions ___________ • Implementing sustainable practices before

they become law ___________

2. Are you required to report on the environmental performance of your IT systems to senior management, shareholders or external bodies? SELECT ALL THAT APPLY

Yes – Senior Management ................................................................................o Yes – Shareholders...............................................................................................o Yes – External ........................................................................................................o No..............................................................................................................................o Don’t know .............................................................................................................o

3. a) To what extent are environmental concerns driving investment in IT in your organisation?

• They are the primary driver ...........................................................................o • They are an important consideration ........................................................o • They have an equal weighting with other drivers ................................o • They are secondary to other drivers ...........................................................o • They have no weighting / bearing at all ...................................................o

b) To what extent are cost savings driving investment in IT in your organisation?

• They are the primary driver ...........................................................................o • They are an important consideration ........................................................o • They have an equal weighting with other drivers ................................o • They are secondary to other drivers ...........................................................o • They have no weighting / bearing at all ...................................................o

4. Which of the following best describes how you feel environmental programmes and initiatives in your company have been affected by challenging economic circumstances? SELECT ONE ONLY

• Not at all, we have continued our programme as planned ...............o • A little, we have done less work on our environmental

programme than we would like ...................................................................o • A lot, but we have actually carried out more environmental

activities in order to also reduce costs e.g. energy ...............................o • A lot, we have had to abandon some of our environmental

projects due to lack of budget ......................................................................o • We don’t have any environmental initiatives .........................................o

As part of KYOCERA’s commitment to improved green credentials we’d like to know what you, the reader, think.

Please take a few of minutes to enter our KYOCERA/Sustainable Times survey and tell us what you think. One lucky winner will be drawn from a hat on 21st January 2013 and will win a £500 shopping voucher from a store of their choice!

WIN A £500 Shopping Voucher

To complete our survey either...

Such as...

The information below will help us to analyse your answers to our questions. We will only use this information for the internal analysis of this survey. (or to contact you if you have won the prize)

Name

Company name

Position

Email

Telephone

Company size

No. of sites


survey

5. How important are each of these topics when selecting printers/copiers for your organisation? (Please use a scale where 1 = not important at all; 2 = not particularly important; 3 = Neither important nor unimportant; 4 = Important; 5 = Very important)

• Energy consumption profile _________ • Energy saving features _________ • Manufacture to high environmental standards

(eg ISO14001) _________ • Energy efficiency certification (eg Energy Star) _________ • Other environmental certification

(eg Blue Angel, Nordic Swan, EcoLabel) _________ • Design for disassembly/recycling _________ • Use of recycled materials _________ • Embodied energy in the device _________ • Embodied energy in consumables _________ • Lifecycle analysis/product carbon footprint _________ • Supply chain transparency _________ • Supplier CSR standards _________ • Consumables return service _________

6. What benefits do you associate with taking environmental issues into account when specifying goods and services?

• Energy efficiency ............................................................................................o • Reductions in waste ......................................................................................o • Lower cost ........................................................................................................o • Benefits to company reputation (CSR) ..................................................o • Other (please specify) • I don’t anticipate any benefits ..................................................................o

7. To what extent are you prepared to pay a premium for a product that performs well on the criteria you consider important?

• More than 50% ...............................................................................................o • 33 – 49% ...........................................................................................................o • 25 – 32% ...........................................................................................................o • 20 – 24% ...........................................................................................................o • 15 – 19% ...........................................................................................................o • 10 – 14% ...........................................................................................................o • 6 – 10% ..............................................................................................................o • 1 – 5% .................................................................................................................o • I would not pay a premium .........................................................................o • I would expect such a product to cost less, not more .......................o

8. What do you understand by the term Managed Print Services (MPS)?

• The centralised management of fleet printers, copiers and MFPs ............................................................................................................o

• The just in time delivery of consumables ..............................................o • The outsourced management of all document output devices .....o • Other (please specify)

9. Do you know what your organisation’s print costs represent as a % of turnover?

o Yes o No

10. Do you know if you pay per page? o Yes o No

11. To justify your organisation making sustainably based improvements what savings to your operating costs would you want to achieve?

• Please State

12. Which of the following best describes your company’s current activities? • We arrange carbon offsets for all activities on a

company-wide basis ........................................................................................o • We arrange carbon offsets for some activities

(e.g. plane flights) on a company-wide basis .........................................o • We arrange carbon offsets for some activities, on a team

or department level .........................................................................................o • We arrange carbon offsets for a few activities, on the

initiative of individual employees or managers ....................................o • We don’t arrange carbon offsets for any activities,

to my knowledge ..............................................................................................o • I don’t know .......................................................................................................o

13. Which of the following are criteria your company prefers when choosing offset schemes? CHOOSE ALL THAT APPLY

• “Gold standard” offsets ..................................................................................o • Offsets independently verified by a respected third party ...............o • Offset activities targeted in the home country ....................................o • Offset schemes directly relevant to your own industry ....................o • Offset activities targeted in the developing world ..............................o • Offset activities with a social benefit

(e.g. based in lower-income communities) ............................................o • Offset activities for which there is a ‘paper trail’ you can examine ... • None of these is important to my company .........................................o • Don’t know .........................................................................................................o

14. Which of the following best describes your opinion ? SELECT ONE ONLY • My company’s environmental policies and actions are

entirely driven by cost/benefit analysis. If something makes/ saves money, they will do it, and if it does not, they won’t .............o

• My company’s environmental policies and actions are entirely driven by principle. If something seems to be the ‘right’ environmental thing do to, they will do it, and if it does not, they won’t ................................................................................................o

• My company’s environmental policies and actions are driven by a mixture of cost/benefit analysis and principle. Each decision is weighed on a balance of moral and cost/ benefit concerns ..............................................................................................o

• My company is not involved in environmental policies and actions – these issues play no role in decision-making ....................o

• Don’t know ........................................................................................................o

15. In your opinion, what is the most important environmental challenge facing your company in the next 5 years?

• Don’t know ........................................................................................................o • We don’t face any environmental challenges ......................................o • Other (please specify)

Would you be happy to have a conversation with one of our research team (Anyone contacted by our research team will receive a £20 Marks & Spencers Gift Voucher for participating in the additional Telephone Survey) (please tick box ) o

Are you happy to be contacted via email to receive future promotional mailings etc. (please tick box ) o


Need for cost savings drives take-up of unified communications

Video more effective collaboration tool than email or phone

More than half (57%) of the 352 individuals responsible for the implementation of Unified Communications in businesses stated that the recession was a major influencing factor in their decision to adopt UC. Nearly 80% expected to achieve ROI on their investment within two years, with a quarter expecting ROI within 6 months.

The need to make general ‘cost savings’ was cited by 57% of the companies polled; a further 52% also listed ‘productivity increases’ as something they were looking to achieve; and 42% said they were aiming to use

The study commissioned by Brother for its video and webconferencing solution OmniJoin analysed the impact of video-conferencing on the performance of two teams based in different locations as they set about allocating desks for an office move and deciding how to spend the employee health budget.

Video was found to be more effective than the telephone or email at getting results, providing clarity and fostering team spirit:n 70% of participants said they

were more willing to engage in the discussion when video-conferencing;

n 60% said being able to see other people and share documents live made the discussion more open;

n 81% said that using the phone and email to conduct a task felt divided rather than united, whereas video-

The recession has been a major driver in the uptake of Unified Communications (UC) within global businesses – and a contributory factor in the decline of the deskphone, according to a survey undertaken by Frost & Sullivan for Jabra.

As mid-size businesses cite video conferencing as a key area for future investment (see page 5), Brother is releasing the results of research by the Fraunhofer Institute showing that video is more effective than the telephone or email for remote team working.

UC to ‘become more agile through improved collaboration’.

Andrew Doyle, MD, Jabra UK Business Solutions, says the results of the survey clearly show that businesses recognise Unified Communications as an appropriate reaction to today’s harsher financial environment and a way to foster better, more competitive working practices.

“What we have here is clear evidence that businesses recognise that implementing Unified Communications can be a serious cost-cutting and productivity-boosting exercise. The productivity and cost benefits of UC,

conferencing delivered genuine collaboration;

n 74% felt that decisions reached through video-conferencing felt more like joint decisions than those reached via phone/email; and

n 79% said communication on video-conferencing was more effective because being able to see others helped them to concentrate for longer.

Dr Josephine Hofmann of the Fraunhofer Institute said: “Our study found that video collaboration enables effective teamwork as a genuine group process. A majority of participants said they were able to concentrate for longer, whereas telephone conferences are stressful and make them switch off. This will have a positive impact on things like motivation, acceptance of the decision and willingness to contribute.”

Brother hopes that the findings will

whilst key within this economically turbulent time, will also remain central to business growth once the economy stabilises and will drive smarter working practices in the future,” he said.

More than half (56%) of respondents said that IP telephony and PC-based soft-clients had already generated better communications within their workforce, with 41% seeing more collaboration and 36% experiencing increased productivity as a result.

Fifty-two per cent of respondents said they had already got rid of company desk-phones and, of those who hadn’t, 70% were planning to remove them in the near future.

Headsets are the most popular device in companies that have replaced their deskphones. Those that have made the transition report a number of benefits, including having their hands free when on calls (58%), improved sound quality (41%) and better engagement and collaboration with off-site workers (26%).

The highest proportion of companies with existing UC implementations can be found in the UK and US (60.3% and 58% respectively).www.jabra.com

encourage more small and medium-sized businesses to adopt a technology that is widely used by larger organisations and is starting to gain penetration amongst SMEs. IDC says that 29% of UK SMEs already use video-conferencing, but it expects this figure to grow to 63% within five years.

Simon Stones, product planning manager for Brother International Europe, said: “The clear conclusion from this research is that seeing really is believing when it comes to effective teamwork. In today’s fast-moving world, a high-quality solution like OmniJoin helps build trusting working relationships quickly – by putting a face to a name and creating a natural atmosphere.”www.brother.co.uk/OmniJoin_Conferencing

communications

Fifty-two per cent of respondents said they had already removed their company desk-phones...

“

Dr Josephine Hoffmann, Fraunhofer Institute

ple ChoiceThe reliable range of papers with a multitude of uses


MultiCopy Colour Laser CIE Whiteness 168 – The premium for all colour laserprinters and copiers.MultiCopy Inkjet CIE Whiteness 168 – Specially developed for inkjet printers.MultiCopy Original CIE Whiteness 168 – A reliable multipurpose paper thatgives outstanding performance.Multi Laser CIE Whiteness 150 – A paper suited to mono laser printing andhigh volume copying.Multifine CIE Whiteness 145 – A wonderfully uncomplicated wood-free offsetpaper with good bulk and excellent opacity.

Multi advert new 4-12 (2) 12/04/2012 13:23 Page 1


what’s new... The grey suit

goes greenMarks and Spencer describes this £349 suit as the world’s most sustainable. All materials have been chosen carefully for their sustainability, from traceable organic wool and lining made from recycled plastic bottles to reclaimed buttons and a 100% recycled polyester

inter-lining. There is still room for improvement, though, and M&S is currently looking for more sustainable sources for the thread and shoulder pads used.www.marksandspencer.com/Suits-Mens/b/43483030

Tenza bows to realityFollowing customer research showing that ‘Documents Enclosed’ tenzalopes are almost always thrown away rather than recycled, Tenza Technologies has decided to make them from oxo-biodegradable film rather than recyclable LDPE. The new envelopes have the same appearance, quality and reliability as before, but will now bio-degrade in landfill. Commercial manager Alan Lomas said: “The market demands environmentally friendly alternatives and now Tenza can offer that as standard – and crucially, at no extra cost.” http://tenzatech.com

Small changeTesa is expanding its range of eco-friendly products with the launch of the tesafilm Mini dispenser ecoLogo and the tesa Mini Correction roller ecoLogo. Casings for both the handheld tape dispenser and the correction roller are made from

100% recycled plastic. Tesafilm ecoLogo tape is 100% recycled, too, and solvent-free.

Turning the tables...onCafés, hotels, golf courses and other establishments that might want give guests free power to charge a mobile device are some of the potential customers of Solar Technology’s all weather, solar power generating EcoTable. Other potential users include those who need a power source in the garden.

Available in two sizes, the EcoTable consists of a large solar panel that doubles as a table top above a power bank with a choice of connections including a traditional wall socket, USB and 12 Volt car charger.

The EcoTab 120’s battery can be fully charged in as few as 6 hours of sunshine and holds enough power to charge seven laptops, 30 smartphones or 15 tablets. If necessary, it can charge multiple devices simultaneously.

EcoTab is made from steel and FSC-certified Iroko wood and costs from £1,299. A selection of complementary bench designs, including a corner seat, is also available. www.solartechnology.co.uk

Getting heavy This 350gsm heavyweight is the latest addition to International Paper’s PRO-DESIGN range of FSC-certified paper. Ideal for business cards, presentation folders, postcards, menus and the like, the paper also carries PEFC and EU Ecolabel certification. It is made at the Saillat Mill in France where greenhouse gas emissions have been cut by 78% since 1990 and 88% of energy requirements are met with the on-site production of green energy from biomass. In addition, the mill aims to source a majority of its wood from forests located within 150km of the mill. More than a quarter (27%) of wood used is a by-product of the furniture and framing industries.www.internationalpaper.com

Taking a Responsible approach to printer suppliesXerox has launched the Responsible range of remanufactured print cartridges for non-Xerox printers, including models from Brother, Canon, Epson, HP, IBM, Konica Minolta, Kyocera, Lexmark, Oki and Panasonic. Responsible cartridges are made from 90% re-used parts and deliver cost savings of at least 50% compared to OEM originals. Ideal for managed print services providers, the cartridges are inspected to ISO 9001 standard and come with a two-year guarantee.


Online bookings Climatecars, the Green Fleet Best Private Hire/Taxi Firm of the Year, has produced an iPhone App that makes it easy for customers to book one of their eco-friendly cars at any time of the day or night. Climatecars has a large fleet of environmentally friendly hybrids and some 100% zero emission electric cars. All have leather seats and are stocked with free Belu mineral water and magazines. Pricing is competitive, with a trip from Central London to Heathrow costing around £50.www.climatecars.com

Evergreen Stabilo BOSS goes greenStabilo has launched a recycled version of the ever-green Stabilo BOSS highlighter, an office favourite for more than 40 years. Made from 83% recycled plastic, it can be bought singly, in a desk set or in an 80% recycled paper four-pack. In other respects, the Stabilo Green BOSS highlighter is the same as the standard model, with ‘Anti-Dry-Out’ technology for a 4-hour cap-off time.www.stabilo.co.uk 01753 605656

Adapt for a longer lifeA new adapter that converts a digital HDMI port to analogue VGA overcomes the problem of what to do with an existing monitor when you replace an old PC with a new computer that has an HDMI port only. Using the Sandberg adapter to connect a VGA cable to the computer’s HDMI port would allow you to continue using a VGA monitor and save the expense and waste of buying a new screen.www.sandberg.it

Bright and whiteHerma has launched a 16-strong recycled labels range. The Blue Angel-certified labels are notable for their exceptional brightness of 97% (CIE 133) even though no chlorine bleach or other optical brighteners are used. According to Herma, the whiteness is purely the result of very careful waste paper selection. The adhesive used is water-based and contains no solvents, plasticisers or acids.www.herma.com/theblueangel

Now food packaging goes to your waistline too!Levi’s Waste<Less jeans, part of the brand’s Spring 2013 collection, are made from denim with a recycled plastic content of at least 20%. The recycled PET plastic comes from used drinks bottles and food trays and each pair of jeans contains as much plastic as eight water bottles. Waste bottles and food trays are sorted by colour, crushed into flakes and made into a polyester fibre that is blended with cotton fibre before being woven with traditional cotton yarn to create denim. In total, Levi Strauss & Co. expects to use more than 3.5 million recycled bottles in the collection of denim jackets and jeans. Waste<Less follows the launch earlier this year of the Water<Less collection that uses a new finishing process to reduce water use by up to 96%. Levi Strauss & Co. estimates that, to date, the collection has saved more than 360 million litres of water. www.levi.com

Outward bounds activity provider Wilderness Scotland is to introduce a programme of carbon neutral corporate experiences in the Highlands and Islands. Wilderness Events can devise incentive experiences, creative charity challenges and team building exercises for groups of 4 to 400 people and all fitness levels. A range of activities is available including mountain biking, canoeing, sea kayaking and nature walking. Wilderness Scotland is the only activity company to gain a 5-star, ‘exceptional’ rating from VisitScotland’s quality assurance scheme. To find out more, visit www.wildernessevents.com or call 01479 420 020.

Five-star adventure


ICT4S Ad BusInfoHR.pdf 1 01/08/2012 10:06

in brief

scanners


Fujitsu PFU has launched a Scan-to-Go-Green campaign to promote the environmental, productivity and cost-saving benefits of scanning, routing and storing documents electronically.

The campaign is centred on an information portal at www.scansnapit.com/scantogogreen where you will find a new whitepaper, an AIIM study and an ROI calculator.

Fujitsu is also giving people the chance to win a new PFU ScanSnap S1300i scanner on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/ScanSnapUK/app_252899818150134) and has made a commitment to plant 10,000 mangroves in Malaysia.

Fujitsu says that one of the best and easiest ways to save paper is to invest in a scanner that converts paper-based information into digital documents so that just a single paper copy has to be managed and stored. On the basis that a typical document can be printed as many as 19 times, with 45% of these copies being thrown away within 24 hours of printing, it claims that a single personal scanner can save up to €1,250

Scan to go greenin copying costs each year (not including processing and filing costs) and reduce paper consumption by the equivalent of five trees.

An AIIM study available on the portal states that unnecessary printing and copying costs a 10-person company over €900 per year in ink and/or toner costs and that introducing a scanner and making slight changes in business processes can achieve a return on investment (ROI) after just 4 months of deployment and generate an additional €940 savings over 12 months.

In addition to these financial savings, investing in a scanner can improve core business processes, streamline workflows, strengthen compliance with regulatory guidelines, raise productivity and reduce environmental impact.

PFU is supporting the campaign with a project to plant a total of 10,000 mangrove trees in Kuala Gula, part of the Matang Forest Reserve in Malaysia. Mangroves are essential to

Fujitsu is encouraging businesses to invest in scanners to reduce copying costs.

Fujitsu has sold two million ScanSnap personal document scanners worldwide since launching the series in 2001. The latest model is the cloud-

enabled ScanSnap S1300i featuring a new connector that makes it easy to scan to third party applications for enhanced productivity, including Dropbox and Android smartphones

and tablets.

Green product of the YearDocument process automation specialist ReadSoft Online has been named ‘Environmental Product of the Year’ at the annual Document Management (DM) Magazine awards. Nominated in a record seven categories, the award recognises the company’s work in delivering business innovation whilst responding to growing environmental concerns.

Automation’s ability to reduce levels of hard copy paperwork is well known but with ReadSoft Online, businesses can now use the flexibility and power of the Cloud to scale up and down the automation of back office processes. This delivers greater control which can positively affect a business’s environmental impact.

ReadSoft Online lets users scan, upload and e-mail documents and invoices. The software automatically extracts relevant data from fields, verifies it and sends it to the receiving applications. www.readsoft.com

October 25 was the third World Paper-Free Day. To mark the occasion, AIIM (the global community of information professionals) released a digital e-book entitled The Paper-Free Process Revolution Handbook.

Available for download at www.aiim.org/wpfd, it includes a checklist and advice on how to enhance productivity and speed up processes by capturing data in electronic format at the onset of a business process. AIIM research shows removing paper can result in a 30 to 50% gain in process productivity and a three- to 10-fold reduction in turnaround response times.

AIIM President John Mancini said: “The predictions in the ‘70s for a PC on every desk and a paperless office contradicted each other creating a significant disconnect. Desktop computers connected to high-speed printers, copiers and fax machines fuelled paper trails rather than paperless processes. With laptops, tablets and smart phones prevalent today, it is a necessity

for companies to rethink paper use and be able to respond in a time-frame customers and employees have come to expect from consumer interactions.”

Even so, AIIM finds going paper-less continues to be a challenge and unproductive habits persist. An Industry Watch report issued in April this year, Process Revolution – moving your business from paper to PCs and tablets, shows that 35% of organisations are reducing paper consumption, with the majority achieving payback for scanning and capture projects in 18 months or less. Typical improvements in customer response times are two and three times faster with many cases being five to 10 times faster.

Despite these benefits, the report reveals that 77% of invoices that arrive as PDF attachments are printed, 31% of fax invoices are printed and then re-scanned and 32% of businesses report using more paper and doing more photocopying. www.aiim.org/wpfd

Scan for productivity

the inhabitants of this area, as the trees protect people against storms at sea and are an important breeding ground for fish, crabs and crustaceans.www.pfu.fujitsu.com/en/www.scansnapit.com

...investing in a scanner can improve core business processes...

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document management

Signs of the times

1. e-SignaturesGreater Baltimore Medical Center (GBMC) is using Wacom signature tablets to reduce its environmental footprint, lower costs and increase patient satisfaction.

It recently deployed 20 Wacom STU-500 signature tablets with Access Intelligent Forms Suite (IFS) and Access e-Signature software to help generate e-forms at patient registration. Forms now come with patient demographics pre-filled and barcodes that facilitate auto-indexing in a Hyland Software OnBase electronic content management system.

According to Cherie Patterson, Patient Access Applications Trainer at GBMC, the ability to capture and apply electronic signatures has made registration quicker and easier for patients.

“The combination of Wacom’s LCD STU-500 signature tablets and Access’s e-forms and electronic patient signature solutions have created a fast, paperless registration process. It has further reduced our paper costs and several patients have commented on how much faster their registration experience now is,” she said.

Instead of printing patient forms twice, with one copy for the patient and one to go into their chart, GBMC now asks if patients would like a copy. Most say “no,” helping GBMC to save money and maximise the environmental benefits already achieved by switching to e-forms on demand.

“With our Wacom and Access solution we’ve greatly reduced our paper output and waste,” said Patterson. “Ninety-seven percent of patients decline a copy of their forms packet, so everybody wins.”www.wacom.com

In honour of October’s World Paper-Free Day, we highlight three paper-less business processes that can save time and money

2. Digital mailroomsScanning mail as it is opened in a mailroom enables mail to be stored and distributed electronically. This reduces the amount of paper flowing around a business and, when integrated with an electronic document management system, improves retrieval times and gives staff a single view of all PC-generated and scanned documents relating to a customer, supplier or process.

Organisations with high volumes of incoming mail are already capturing and digitising mail to save manpower, speed up document workflow and improve access to information, and there now exist solutions for smaller businesses too.

Neopost has just launched an all-in-one electronic document management system comprising a duplex colour scanner (with 50-sheet ADF); computer with touch screen display; embedded archiving server with 1000GB disk storage (enough for 3 million B&W pages); and software for scanning, digitising, processing, storing and retrieving all manner of paper documents, including letters, invoices, internal documents and forms.

The IMW-20 offers specific workflows for invoice validation and mail scanning. In the case of the latter, this includes the ability to route scans directly to a department, departmental supervisor or to the virtual mailboxes of individual workers who receive email notification when any new mail is received.

Other useful features include built-in traceability so that a scanned letter can be tracked on its route to the intended recipient; stamp and barcode separation for batch scanning; OCR data extraction for automatic indexing; and a network capability that allows remote groups, warehouses and offices to be integrated into enterprise-wide systems. www.neopost.co.uk/imw-20 0800 731 1334

3. Data capture in the field

For digital pen and paper specialist Anoto, scanning itself is an unnecessary expense and productivity drain.

It recently surveyed US and UK businesses with 50-200 employees and found that 61% of respondents scan between 50 and 100 pages per day and more than four out of 10 (44%) spend between one and five hours per day scanning documents. Based on Anoto’s estimate that scanning costs 5.4 pence per page, this represents a big cost to business.

Anoto says a digital pen solution is far more efficient at capturing data, as it simultaneously creates a handwritten record on a paper form and a digital version that can be transmitted instantly via a Bluetooth-enabled smartphone for validation and processing.

Torfaen Training is using a destiny e-pen solution based on Anoto technology to speed up the enrolment of new students and apprentices. The company’s 40 assessors still fill in paper enrolment forms, but they now use a digital pen that digitally captures all ink marks made on the form and transmits them to destiny’s secure servers where they are converted from handwriting to text. A couple of minutes later the completed form is available on destiny’s hosted online ‘Manage’ service where Torfaen Training’s admin support team can compare it against a PDF of the original handwritten form. Once approved, the information is automatically submitted to the training company’s Maytas MIS system.www.destinywireless.com



ple ChoiceMulti and the Environment

The Multi range is mainly made from forest thinnings from sustainable forests and chippings from saw mills.The pulp and paper are produced on the same site, minimising transportation.95% of the heat energy used to make Multi is generated from renewablebio-fuel produced as a bi-product by the mill.The surplus heat from the manufacturing process is piped to over 3,000 homesand civic buildings throughout the surrounding area.0% CO2 emissions from fossil fuels during the production process.



Durham University has set itself an ambitious target of a 30% carbon reduction by 2013/2014 so one would expect any new building to be designed and built to the highest environmental standards. Even so, with an excellent rating under the Building Research Establishment’s Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM), the Palatine Centre is clearly out of the ordinary.

Providing offices and student services under one ‘green’ roof, the building was designed to be efficient and ecological from the outset. As well as taking advantage of the latest technology in solar collectors, photo-voltaics, natural ventilation, solar shading, rainwater harvesting and green roofing, the architects have used recycled and ‘Green guide’ materials throughout.

The result is a building that generates 15% of its own energy and constantly adapts and responds to the surrounding environmental conditions to reduce the need for heating/cooling and minimise unnecessary energy use.

Office spaces include motion-activated lights to save energy, integral recycling with dedicated waste areas, and the use of natural light; while outside 65m2 of solar thermal panels provide hot water for the kitchens and 160 photovoltaic panels on the roof provide a source of low carbon energy.

‘Green’ RoofsMore than 15% of the Palatine Centre’s roof has been planted with flowering sedum. As this surface doesn’t heat up to the same extent as concrete or shingle, it helps keep the building temperature down in summer and, through an oasis effect, cools the surrounding area. Green roofs help retain rain water and reduce ‘run-off’, too, lessening the pressure on sewer systems. Elsewhere on the roof, solar collectors reduce water heating demand.

Cedar cladding on the roof and the external structure protects the building from the elements and in time will fade to a soft grey as part of the natural weathering process. The wood’s open cell composite construction is naturally resistant to damp and decay and boasts excellent thermal and acoustic properties.

green buildings

Lighting and Solar ShadingWith the dual purpose of reducing energy consumption and taking full advantage of natural light, the Palatine Centre maximises available light from a large, predominantly north facing glazed façade. Artificial lighting in work areas is efficiently controlled by daylight sensors, while less used areas feature automatic presence and absence detection technology that switches lights on and off as necessary. The centre’s overhanging roofs and internal roller blinds provide solar shading and glare protection.

The Palatine Centre is designed to be naturally ventilated. Sophisticated energy modelling was used to optimise window sizes and openings, and energy efficient air source heat pumps with waste heat recycling are only incorporated to cool high occupancy spaces.www.durham.ac.uk/greenspacewww.durham.ac.uk

Green beacon

More than 15% of the Palatine Centre’s roof has been planted with flowering sedum.

“

The Palatine Centre at Durham University is packed with the latest green technologies, from solar thermal collectors and photovoltaic panels to rainwater harvesting and sedum roofing, making it a beacon of sustainability on the edge of this World Heritage site.



ple ChoiceMulti Environmental Standards

EU-Ecolabel(EU’s Environment and quality label)

The mill is EMAS registered(EU’s Eco Management and Audit Scheme)

TCF (Totally Chlorine Free) The pulp is manufactured without any use ofchemicals that contain chlorine.

FSC (Forest Stewardship Council)

Nordic EcolabelNordic Environmental Label

ECF (Elementary Chlorine Free)The pulp is manufactured without the use ofelementary chlorine.



office design

Autodesk hopes that its new 21,000 square foot UK HQ in Farnborough, Hampshire will become the company’s 13th office to achieve LEED Commercial Interiors certification, a byword for sustainable office design. Regional FM Donna Bourne is confident that it will achieve Gold accreditation – not as good as the Shanghai and Singapore offices, which are Platinum standard, but impressive nonetheless.

The fit-out based on workplace usage analysis by DEGW and sustainable office design by Morgan Lovell has already delivered big savings for Autodesk, including a 21% cut in lighting-related energy use and a 27% reduction in water use.

Donna points out that as a tenant Autodesk has not been able to implement all the measures it would have liked, but says the landlord has worked hard to accommodate most of its wishes.

“The main plant isn’t ours so we can’t touch the plant room, chillers and boilers, but we can make suggestions. For example, we have reduced the water flow to the taps and toilets in our space by 25% and we have put in efficient shower fittings. And we are working with the landlord to get local control of heating and air conditioning, but at the moment the building management system (BMS) is old so this isn’t possible,” she explains.

Like any FM, this is a battle Donna

Grasping the nettle

would love to win as temperature levels are as polarising an issue in Autodesk’s HQ as in any other office. “We did a post-occupancy survey and the design was one of the things people loved. The moans were to do with the air conditioning and the removal of bins,” she says.

No bin policyDonna has replaced under-desk waste paper baskets with central recycling bins. This has a financial advantage – “We are paying less because the cleaners do not have to empty the bins so much” – and also contributes to higher recycling rates and a neater working environment. So, too, does the lack of desktop printers, which are now only found in the HR department. Everyone else has to walk to one of two central printing stations.

A wide variety of energy-efficient lighting is used throughout the offices, all of it daylight or motion-sensitive. Personal lighting is not allowed: Autodesk wants to keep energy use down and the offices are light enough anyway – the building has glass on all sides and is arranged around a large central courtyard so that all desks are within 7 metres of a natural light source. User-controlled blinds on the south and east sides prevent glare and solar gain.

Reductions in greenhouse gas emissions also come from the dedicated Cisco 3000 teleconferencing suite, one of 50 video conferencing systems used globally by Autodesk. The system cost $200,000 but because it is on the IP infrastructure there are no monthly call costs so it is relatively cheap to run – previously Autodesk was paying $5,000 a month in video calls. The fact that this room is occupied 65% of the time gives a clear indication of its impact in reducing travel-related CO2 emissions.

Outside the suite there is a large media wall that is used to display

autodesk’s new offices in Farnborough, Hampshire are not just a demonstration of the savings that can be achieved by designing a workplace compatible with today’s flexible, mobile working practices; they are also a great example of sustainability in action. The latest edition of Business Info looks at how the 3D, design and engineering software company has created a space to meet the needs of its 177 employees. Here, we look at what it has done to reduce its carbon footprint and greenhouse gas emissions.

...we have reduced the water flow to the taps and toilet by 25% and put in efficient shower fittings.

“


Autodesk show reels during customer events but which remains turned off at other times to conserve energy.

Despite these measures, Donna believes there is still more to be done. “One area we need to address is people leaving their monitors on. We have implemented software to shut machines down automatically but people still need to be better at turning things off.”

Green teamAround the fringes, Donna and the eight-strong Green Team are quietly encouraging staff to modify other practices: Autodesk has set aside 10% of car park spaces for a car-sharing scheme, but so far only three cars have joined in. It is also promoting green travel through the Travel Plan Network and by partnering

with the Chambers of Commerce and Hampshire County Council.

One of the options Donna is considering is a shuttle bus that lets people hop on and off at will. “At the moment, we have a dedicated shuttle bus that runs between the office and main rail station and into town at lunchtimes,” she explains. “This costs £4,700 a month, but it isn’t used much – 4 or 5 people use it to get to and from the station and 8 or 10 people use it at lunchtimes.”

She is also thinking of expanding recycling in the on-site restaurant, which already covers cooking oil and coffee beans, to include all food waste.

The office design created by Morgan Lovell is equally rigorous: materials such as carpets and acoustic panels are chosen for their recycled content and stuck down with chemical-free adhesives; all wood comes from sustainable sources; and the striking graphics used throughout to

office design

promote the capabilities of Autodesk’s 3D, design and engineering software are PVC-free.

Like the comfortable sofa made from stinging nettles in the break-out area, Morgan Lovell’s welcoming design does a remarkable job of hiding its hair shirt beneath a luxurious exterior.

One area we need to address is people leaving their monitors on. We have implemented software to shut machines down automatically but people still need to be better at turning things off.

“


One of the consequences of a more mobile workforce is that fewer people work in the same position or even the same chair for extended periods, but instead move constantly from workstation to meeting room to break-out area. Modern office chairs reflect this new style of working with lighter, more intuitive designs perfect for interrupted use, among them the new Diffrient World chair from Humanscale.

Humanscale started out in 1983 selling anti-glare screen filters before expanding into other areas of ergonomics including monitor arms, laptop holders, seating, LED lighting and air purifiers.

In 1999 it broke into the international seating market with the revolutionary Freedom chair designed by Niels Diffrient. Something of a game changer for Humanscale (a million sold to date) and seating design in general, the chair was a breath of fresh air for office workers fed up with overly complicated manual adjustments. Freedom replaced the multitude of knobs and levers found on office chairs at the time with a weight-sensitive recline so that all the user needs to change are the seat height, arms and lumbar support: everything else adjusts automatically.

Brilliantly simple, but according to Humanscale account manager Natalie Hodson, not simple enough for a designer who has always been interested in reducing the number of materials used in the manufacturing process.

“When Niels first designed Freedom the chair that he wanted to design was the Diffrient World Chair, but he didn’t know how to do it then,” she said. He does now.

The Diffrient World chair, at last available in Europe, reflects the current trend for lightness and simplicity. An all mesh task chair, Humanscale’s first, it has just 8 components

Keeping it simple

compared to more than 30 in the Freedom chair, weighs 25 pounds – half that of a traditional task chair – and is 99% recyclable compared to 97% for Liberty and 87% for Freedom.

Humanscale has been able to reduce the number of components thanks to a patented technology based on ball bearings within the frame of the chair. This provides a degree of automatic adjustability without the need for a bulky automatic counter-balance mechanism.

Minimising the number of resources used has obvious sustainability benefits, but according to Hodson, the key driver, as with other Humanscale products, is to create products that are simple to use and very ergonomic. The Diffrient World chair also has a slightly lower price tag – about £100 or 20% cheaper than a Freedom chair.

The launch of the Diffrient World chair increased the number of Humanscale chairs to three, giving customers more choice and allowing Humanscale and the designers who specify its products to meet a broader range of needs.

The other two chairs in the existing range are the flagship Freedom chair, available with or without a neck rest and, with Freedom 2.0, a new back shell

design and armrests that can be adjusted with just one

hand; and the Liberty chair launched in 2004. Popular with media companies,

Sustainable Times visited Humanscale’s London showroom to find out about its latest seating products

The Diffrient Smart with signature chair mechanism

office seating

As well as reducing the number of components used in seating products, a growing number of furniture manufacturers are designing their chairs to reduce transportation costs and associated emissions. Wilkhahn’s award-winning ON chair, for example, has a clever assembly method that allows it to be shipped with the backrest ‘knocked down’ . This reduces the size of carton needed by 45% (in volume), bringing significant savings in packaging materials and space taken up in transport and storage. For its new ‘quarterback’ swivel chair (top), Sedus has reduced packaging by 40% by designing the chair so that it can be dismantled for shipping and reassembled without tools on delivery. At Orgatec, Connection Seating was previewing Why? by Roger Webb Associates. Like the previous examples, this ‘chair-in-a-box’ is designed to be shipped economically and quickly re-assembled simply by clicking its elements together.

The key driver is to create products that are simple to use and very ergonomic.

“

this has the same automatic counter balance mechanism as Freedom but a different aesthetic, with a mesh back that takes on the shape of the sitter’s back removing the need for additional adjustment.

In 2013, Humanscale plans to add the Diffrient Smart chair to its range. This lighter, simpler chair combines a lower price with a more architectural, masculine appeal thanks to a square back and recycled aluminium construction. It features Humanscale’s signature weight sensitive recline, a mesh back and the option of a mesh or fabric seat.www.humanscale.co.uk

A light touch: the Diffrient World Chair

Clicking into placeSustainable

Editor’s Choice Award

Humanscale

How can the Cloud help your business reduce its carbon footprint?Virtualization is a foundational technology for deploying cloud-based infrastructure that allows a single physical server to run multiple Operating Systems or Virtual Machines (VMs) concurrently. As an enabler of consolidation, server virtualization reduces the total physical server footprint, which has inherent green benefits, in turn reducing your carbon footprint.

From a resource-efficiency perspective, less equipment is needed to run workloads, which proactively reduces data centre space and the eventual e-waste footprint. From an energy-efficiency perspective, with less physical equipment plugged in, a data centre will consume less electricity.

It’s worth noting that server virtualization was the most widely adopted green IT project implemented or planned, at 90 percent of IT organizations globally into 2011.

Is it expensive to migrate to the Cloud?No. Because ultimately the pay-as-you-go nature of cloud-based infrastructure encourages users to only consume what they need and nothing more, and “turn off” these resources with set expiration times.

Our services will improve resiliency. Consolidation and improved utilization create more space, more power and more cooling capacity within the same facility envelope, and you only pay for what you use as and when you use it saving you time, money and resources.

How green is your data..?

As a UK leading provider of IT & Communications we at Broadfire Technologies are always looking for ways to reduce both our customers’ & our own carbon footprints. Our drive for efficiency comes from both a concern for the environment & a straightforward desire to save costs.

The use of cloud services can considerably cut down on your business’s annual e-waste. This includes servers, network equipment and PBX. Also real-time communications, web conferencing, chatting, and synced mobile phones can eliminate the need for expensive business trips and unnecessary commuting. The cloud will reduce your carbon footprint as well.

advertorial

Per Kw of IT load, the data centres we use consume five times less energy than the average data centre...The Data Centres Broadfire use for cloud activities use five times less power per Kw than the average data centre. The heat that is produced by the data centre is used when required to heat the main building. We also used the most efficient UPS systems available in order to keep losses to a minimum.

In addition to the above we are constantly striving to improve our efficiencies & impact on the environment and we are currently looking to introduce LED lighting systems & BIO-fuel generators.

To discuss how your business will benefit from the Cloud call Broadfire Technologies on 0203 510 0203 or email our team on [email protected] for a free consultation.

www.broadfire.co.uk


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Sustainable Times Issue 10